Short answer
A replica IW371768 lives or dies on one detail: where the subdials sit. The IW371768 belongs to the IWC Portugieser Chronograph line, and every genuine one has the chronograph minutes at 12 o'clock and the running seconds at 6. Plenty of cheap copies run subdials at 9 and 3, because that is what a stock chronograph movement hands them. Higher tier copies fake the 12 and 6 layout with a module over that same movement, and the module is where the money either shows or does not. Get the layout right first, then look at case thickness, the crystal, and dial printing.
What the reference actually is
The Portugieser Chronograph is IWC's dress chronograph, and the 3716 references share a shape: a 41mm round case, thin lugs, a plain bezel, and a dial built on applied Arabic numerals, leaf hands, and a printed railway minute track. References inside the family differ by dial color, case metal, and strap or bracelet, so pin down the exact configuration before you compare a listing to anything. The numbers that matter for a copy stay stable across the line: about 41mm wide, roughly 13mm thick, sapphire front and back, 30m water resistance, and IWC's in-house calibre 69355, a column wheel chronograph with around 46 hours of reserve.
Tell one: subdial position
On the real watch the chronograph minute counter sits at 12 and the small seconds sits at 6. Run your eye down the vertical center line and both subdials should land on it, tucked close to the middle of the dial. A copy with subdials at 9 and 3 fools nobody who has spent five minutes with the real thing. A copy with the correct 12 and 6 layout but a lazy module usually shows it somewhere else: a date window in the wrong spot, subdial hands too short to reach their track, or a seconds hand that stutters instead of sweeping.
Tell two: case thickness and profile
Thin is hard. The genuine case is around 13mm, which is slim for a chronograph, and the lugs curve down along with it. A stock 7750 build tends to land at 14.5mm or more. On a 7 inch wrist that reads as a chunkier watch, and on a smaller wrist the lugs stop hugging and start hovering. Ask for a side profile photo next to a ruler, or next to a watch you already own. A seller who will not send one usually has a reason.
Movement tiers you will run into
- Quartz. Cheap, accurate, wrong. Chronograph hands snap rather than sweep, and the reset often does not line up. Fine as a $60 beater, not a watch you compare to anything.
- Stock automatic chronograph. The 7750 family, or a Seagull take on it. Reliable enough, but the subdial layout is wrong unless a module corrects it, and that module adds thickness plus a seconds at 6 gearing some shops will not touch.
- Cloned or custom movement. The top releases build a movement that puts the layout where it belongs without a fat spacer. This is where the price jumps, and it is usually worth it if you plan to wear the watch instead of photographing it.
Dial, crystal, and finishing
Check the printing before the polish. The minute track should be crisp and even, not thickened where ink spread. The brand lettering under 12 and the model line above 6 should sit centered, with the same gap on both sides. Applied numerals should catch light on their beveled edges rather than look like flat stickers. On the crystal, look for a faint blue or purple tint at an angle, which tells you there is anti-reflective coating on the inside. No tint, or coating on the outside only, and the dial washes out under shop lights.
Questions worth asking a seller
- Which movement is inside, and does the small seconds sit at 6?
- What is the case diameter and thickness, measured rather than quoted from a listing?
- Is the crystal sapphire on both sides, and is the AR coating internal?
- Does the chronograph reset to zero in one push, or does it drift?
- Do the end links sit flush at the lugs, and how stiff is the strap?
- What happens if the movement stops in the first month?
Price expectations
A quartz version costs about as much as a decent dinner. Automatic copies with the wrong layout sit in the low hundreds. The tier that gets the layout, thickness, and crystal right tends to run several hundred dollars, and the jump makes sense once you have handled both side by side. Anything priced near genuine money is a red flag, not a flex. Budget for a strap swap too, since most copies ship with stiff leather that kills the dressy look the watch is built around.
Bottom line
Buy the layout first, the movement second, the cosmetics third. If the subdials sit at 12 and 6 and the case stays near 13mm, you are already in the top slice of what is out there. Everything after that is dial printing, crystal coating, and how straight the seller is with you.